Few female Marines step forward for infantry

Female Marine officers are unlikely to join the infantry anytime soon, in part because of a lack of volunteers for the Marine Corpsâ€˜ Infantry Officer Course, which was opened to women in September.

Only two of about 80 eligible female Marines have volunteered for the course â€” a grueling, three-month advanced regimen conducted at Quantico, Va., that was opened to women to research their performance.

Of the two female volunteers, one washed out on the first day, along with 26 of the107 men, and the other dropped out two weeks later for medical reasons, a Marine Corps spokesman said.